The Royal Navy section of King’s Bruton CCF set off to HMNB Portsmouth for a very special trip...

We had been invited by Lieutenant Commander Keane for a guided tour of the Royal Navy’s flagship vessel, the Queen Elizabeth (RO8) aircraft carrier. We were blessed with icy cold gusting winds, which we were pleased to be sheltered from as we explored the interior of the ship. Starting in the massive hangar, we were guided through endlessly disorientating corridors of exposed pipes, with the claim that they could circle the Earth multiple times if laid out. We entered various compartments including bunks (mess), with the highlight being the operations room where aircraft were managed within the battlespace. It was then something of a surprise that, within a few steps, we then found ourselves suspended some 25m above the sea on a thin metal grating gantry bolted to the side of the ship before heading up onto the flight deck. Having adjusted to the pleasant conditions inside, it was bracing, to say the least, to be buffeted on the crest of the massive runway where fixed wing aircraft take off from, peering down a sheer drop to the ocean below. Needless to say, we all had an amazing time, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the cadets try to earn ‘Royal Marines Commando’ kit by completing their various challenges of press-ups and chin-ups.

Thomas Brown - King's Bruton CCF RN SLt

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